Normally, I jump at the chance to speak at women’s conferences and participate in any way that will allow me to speak about my advocacy and organization around Women in sport. As a Muslimah living in the Toronto area, I have been very fortunate to be in a region that is bursting with female scholarship of varying degrees and community initiatives by intrepid women. There are tremendous organizations and groups that give nods to Muslim women and their expertise in journalism, health and wellness, … [Read more...]

Last week, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai was declared a co-winner of the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, along with activist Kailash Satyarthi. Since then there have been numerous articles, support pieces and critiques addressing her win, and the expected conspiracy theories. The announcement even reheated a discussion on the validity and relevance of the Nobel Peace Prize itself.We have covered Malala a few times on MMW. Merium has written of the media frenzies that have engulfed … [Read more...]

On September 16, 2014, basketball’s international governing body, FIBA, announced it would be allowing headcoverings during competitive play for a trial period. It stopped short, however, of permanently lifting its ban on hijabs, turbans and yarmulkes worn by basketball players. Stories of players being rejected from tournaments and forced to forfeit because of their headcoverings have been reported for the last few years.A development that could potentially include thousands of players is g … [Read more...]

“She knows paradise is a triangle. And she’s at the bloody gate.” Ramadan is an incredible time for spiritual rejuvenation. It is a time to focus on worship and ask God Almighty for forgiveness and benefit from His Infinite Mercy. It is a time to be thankful, share blessed meals with others, and reflect. It is also a time to revel in the tradition of fried foods at iftaar time. Deep. Fried. Foods. My family members are not a picky lot but when it comes time to break their fasts, but they requi … [Read more...]

For those of us Muslimahs engaged on any social media platform, we’re constantly inundated with beautiful pictures or videos of the latest in modest fashion. Flowy skirts or beautifully brightly coloured short dresses paired with tights; terrific footwear and fabulous headcoverings or styled tresses. All accompanied by fabulous vintage accessories, statement necklaces and designer sunglasses. Most of the time I am awed by the creativity and the effort of what is Modest Fashion.My own s … [Read more...]

“Breaking-barriers”, “challenging ideas”, and “crashing stereotypes” are just some of the words used to describe the activity of a popular group of Palestinian athletes known as the “Speed Sisters.” In 2009, this group of intrepid Christian and Muslim women started out as a racing team of eight, with the support of the Palestine Motor Sports Federation and some support from the British Embassy in Jereusalem. Now the team has four remaining members: Betty Saadah, Nour Dawood, Mona Ennab and Mahra … [Read more...]

When Love, InshAllah, edited by Ayesha Mattu and Nura Masnavi, was initially published two years ago, I was thrilled. I may not have necessarily related to all the stories of those women but was happy to read them. And as cliche as it sounds, it was really challenging the notion that Muslimahs are a monolith. But the editors’ second anthology, Salaam, Love, "an anthology of stories about love written from the perspectives of Muslim men," initially had me less convinced. I really wanted to dis … [Read more...]